Dorothy Ada Emerson (née Shirley) (born 15 May 1939) is a former British athlete, who mainly competed in the women's high jump event.^[1]

Shirley represented England in the high jump at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales.^[2]

Shirley became the national high jump champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the 1960 WAAA Championships.^[3][4] Shortly afterwards Shirley competed for Great Britain in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, where she won the silver medal in the high jump jointly with Jarosława Jóźwiakowska. It was the fifth straight silver medal for Britain in this event.^[5]

After successfully retaining her national title at the 1961 WAAA Championships^[6][7] she competed for England in the high jump at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia.^[8]

Shirley won a silver medal at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica^[9] and a fourth consecutive Games appearance came in 1970 during the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.^[10][11]

Shirley became a teacher and worked as a PE teacher at Bentham Grammar School in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the early 1970s. Later, she taught as a Primary School Teacher at St. Michael's Primary School in Alkrington, Middleton.

• Dorothy Shirley at Olympics.com